Streaking Cecchini collects four hits

Even through June proved to be a difficult month statistically, Gavin Cecchini never changed his approach. Now, the red-hot shortstop is reaping the benefits.

The Mets' No. 7 prospect went 4-for-5 with a triple, an RBI and two runs scored to extend his hitting streak to 11 games Friday night as Double-A Binghamton topped Portland, 7-3, at Hadlock Field. It was his second four-hit game this season and first since June 5 against Reading.

"I'm just sticking with my approach," Cecchini said, "nothing has changed from day one. I still have my approach, regardless of if I have the hit streak or not. There's been games where I've been 0-fer and there's been games when I get four hits like tonight and that approach stays the same regardless of the result. I know if I stick with my approach, the results will be there."

That approach, which scouts cite as one of the 2012 first-round pick's offensive strengths, is something Cecchini said is his foremost concern going into an at-bat. Though the approach changes depending on the situation, he said once he steps into the box, sticking with it is "all that matters."

Cecchini's streak began on June 30, at the tail end of a month in which the B-Mets' leadoff man owned a .208/.260/.302 line, although he never felt like he was struggling as much as the numbers indicated.

"That [batting average] last month," Cecchini said, "which I didn't even know I was hitting that, I had a lot of balls that I hit hard that were made outs. But you guys and people on the outside world of baseball, they just look at the numbers and say, 'Oh, well, he's hitting a certain number, you know, he's hitting .230 or whatever the case may be and he's having a bad month.'

"Well, that might not be the case. He could be hitting balls hard at people and just making outs, and that's what I did. There's nothing that changed from this month to last month of what I've been doing. I hit balls hard, that's what I do, it's just the balls are falling. You know, that's the game of baseball."

As his luck has turned, the Louisiana native has raised his average 33 points back to the .300 mark by hitting .400 (20-for-50) during the 11-game streak.

And while numbers don't affect Cecchini's approach, he still boasts a solid stat line, with a .300 average, .787 OPS, 25 extra-base hits and a strikeout rate just under 12 percent in 293 at-bats.

Still, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound infielder avoids the urge to get too overconfident, regardless of how well he feels like he's swinging the bat.

"I try not to get too high, I try not to get too low," Cecchini said. "This game, professional baseball, it's a long season. Tonight is just one game. A lot of people, fans or whatever the case may be, they like to live and die on every single pitch and every single game. That's how it is. That's the reality of it. For me, it's going back to the basics. ... I just stay with my approach, and as long as I do that, results will come.

"I'm sticking with what I do, sticking with my routine, sticking with my approach I talked about and just going out there and having fun and helping the team win."

Michael Conforto, the Mets' third-ranked prospect, went 3-for-5 with two RBIs for Binghamton, while Josh Rodriguez contributed three hits and scored twice.

Binghamton starter John Gant (3-4) allowed three runs on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts over six innings to earn the win.

Sea Dogs counterpart Justin Haley (3-10) surrendered six runs on 11 hits in two-plus innings.